It's the best of jobs.  It's the most difficult of jobs.  It can bring you the greatest joy.  It can cause the greatest pain.  There is nothings as fulfilling and exhilarating.  There's nothing so depleting and exhausting.  No area of your life can make you feel more liek a success when everything is going well.  No area of your life can make you feel more like a failure when things go wrong.  PARENTING!  -Stormie OMartian (p.15)

Stormie doesn't waste any time in bringing us all together as parents huh?  We've all experienced "those days" and it's comforting to know that even though we may have different lives, when it comes to parenting, there are still some very common factors we all share, regardless of the amount of children, how we raise them, or even our ages.  Being a parent brings us together in so many ways...

My first experience of being a "mom" was actually with my step-son at the ripe old age of... 18.  I was just out of high school and if you ask anyone that knew me from back then... well, I was NEVER going to have children so I was a LITTLE inexperienced.  (I can even count on one hand how many kids I ever babysat for.)  I had NO desire to "settle" for being a mom... and I had much "bigger" plans for MY future...

...and then everything changed... and somehow my life took on a different look... and I found myself in VERY unfamiliar and unrehearsed territory...

There's something "special" about being a step-parent, and I learned the true meaning of love and hurt in short order.  The more I fell in love with my husband, the more I fell in love with his son... and my heart ached when we would take Joe back to his mom's every other weekend.  I thought I would die the first summer that Joe left us after he'd come to stay with us and then went back to his mom's for the school year (they lived an hour away).  I didn't know how I was going to handle being a mom and the hurt that came with it.

I began to realize, however, that because of my love for Joe and the man I'd married, that I wanted to have children... to leave something behind that showed our love for each other, and so we got pregnant with our first child, Nikolas.  I can honestly say, I had NO idea that we would have as many children as we do now... (which is another story for another time) but just as with becoming a parent to begin with, I'm so glad and thankful that it's God's plan that prevailed and not my own.

I can add to that statement, that if it weren't for God and my relationship with Him, I never would have had so many children.  After my first couple of kids, along with a step-son I didn't see all the time, I realized that being a parent was a daunting task and one I just couldn't control like I thought.  I worried constantly about them getting sick or hurt, and since I was at home full-time (with the exception of owning a pawn shop with Mike that I would bring the kids to a few days a week) I put a lot of pressure on myself to be "the best mom" there was because so many people thought I'd settled for less by being "just a mom".

But everything about being a mom was new to me... it's just not a role I'd ever pictured myself in... and so I tried so hard to be "perfect" and get it right...

We try to do the best we can raising our children.  Then, just when we think we've got the parenting terrain all figured out, we suddenly find ourselves in new territory again as each new age and stage presents another set of challenges.  Sometimes we sail through smoothly.  Sometimes we encounter tempests and tidal waves.  Sometimes we get so tired that we just want to give up --- let the storm take us where it will... (but) we don't have to be tossed and turned by these winds of change.  Our children's lives don't ever have to be left to chance. 

We don't have to pace the floor anxiously, biting our nails, gnawing our knuckles, dreading the terrible twos or torturous teen.  We don't have to live in fear of what each new phase of development may bring, what dangers might be lurking behind every corner.  Nor do we have to be perfect parents.  We can start right now --- this very minute, in fact --- making a positive difference in our child's future.  It's never too early and never too late.  It doesn't matter if the child is three days old and perfect, or thirty years old and going through a third divorce because of an alcohol problem.  At every stage of their lives our children need and will greatly benefit from our prayers.  The key is not trying to do it all be ourselves all at once, but rather turning to the expert parent of all time --- our Father God --- for help.  Then, taking one step at a time, we must cover every detail of our child's  life in prayer.  There is great power in doing that, far beyond what most people imagine.  In fact, don't ever under-estimate the power of a praying parent.  -Stormie OMartian (p.15-16)

When I read those words for the first time and it sank into my heart... I knew I had a lot of work to do... because in order for me to experience freedom in parenting... I needed to release my children to the One who gave them to me... and THAT wasn't going to be easy.  I mean, I knew God was in charge... I knew that He loved my children... but as much as I'd dedicated their lives to the Lord, I was still holding on just enough for myself.

Day by day, one prayer at a time, I gave my children back to the Lord and opened myself up to what God wanted me to teach them and train them for... and it WAS freeing.  It wasn't that I loved my children less, but instead, experienced more understanding of God's love not only for my children, but me as well.

But that realization was only the first step... then I had to learn HOW to pray for my children... and THAT was even more eye opening... 

Part II coming soon...
It's not too late to join us as we pray for our children!  You can check out more about it by clicking the following link: S.H.M.I.L.Y. for 30 days of prayer for praying parents... Please share a link to your blog post if you've made one on this chapter!